President’s full name (Include birth and death dates):
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 - July 4, 1826) Political party of the president:
Democratic-Republican party Dates of the term or terms of office:
Two terms: 1801-1805, 1805-1809 Vice President by term:
Aaron Burr (1801-1805),
George Clinton (1805-1809)
Taking over as the third president of the United States was Thomas Jefferson, one of the most influential Founding Fathers who encouraged Republicanism. He was weak-voiced and lacked aggressiveness, but nevertheless he was popular among the people. Having made some good and bad decisions, Thomas Jefferson shall be awarded with a B average.
Upon entering the role as the president, Thomas Jefferson wanted to create a democratic, agricultural nation. Agriculture was the favored branch of the economy and so special privileges were given to those of the manufacturing industry. Jefferson believed agricultural societies kept people away from evil cities, and close to God while working out in the sun. He strongly supported agricultural education at schools, preferably universities. Therefore, Jefferson believed that the management of the land was vital for the survival of the young nation. In the end, the goal of creating an agricultural nation failed. Another one of his goals was to pay off the national debt while balancing the budget. Jefferson inherited a debt of $83 million. Surprisingly, the president reduced the debt by more than a third, even after the expenditure of $15 million for the Louisiana Purchase. He successfully achieved his goal, but the debt left was handed over to the fourth president, James Madison. Moreover, the Democrat-Republicans insisted on a weak central regime. They believed that the power should be in the hands of the states, and the government’s power should be limited. The political party as well as President Jefferson feared a dictatorship might rise and so carried out this idea of government.
As for his foreign policy goals, he created a small military force of twenty-five hundred officers. He thought the United States would set an example for the rest of the world and make friends through “peaceful coercion.” Probably most important, Jefferson did not want to be sucked into a war, because the national debt would just increase and it would be that much harder to reduce it. Another goal was to end the naval war between the four Barbary States of North Africa, which was successful in the end. In May 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli declared war on the United States because Tripoli demanded money from America but it was not granted. Jefferson sent out the “mosquito fleet” or “Jeffs”, which were the navy vessels. After four years of fighting, Tripoli and America agreed to peace in 1805. When Jefferson was re-elected in 1805, one of his goals was to explore the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase. He launched the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which took two and a half years. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark brought back scientific observations, maps, knowledge of presence of the Indians, and adventure stories. Jefferson achieved his goal and learned more information out west.
The relationship between the president and congress was very peaceful. In his two terms as president, Jefferson did not veto a single bill. This was probably due to the fact that the majority party of the House of Representatives and the Senate were Democrat-Republicans. The following is a list showing the number of Democrat-Republicans and Federalists that were in the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th congresses, during the time that Jefferson served. 7th Congress- House of Rep: 68 DR-38 F,Senate: 18 DR-13 F 8th Congress- House of Rep: 103 DR-39 F,Senate: 25 DR-9 F 9th Congress- House of Rep: 114 DR-28 F,Senate: 27 DR-7 F 10th Congress- House of Rep: 116 DR-26 F,Senate: 28 DR-6 F Jefferson’s relationship with Congress was, to some extent, predictable because the Democrat-Republicans would always side with him. For example, Jefferson hated the excise tax, which was a tax charged on goods produced within the country. Jefferson persuaded congress to repel this tax and they had no arguments over this whatsoever. Also, he convinced Congress for an expedition across the Louisiana Purchase, who were led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Plus, Jefferson repealed the Alien and Sedition Acts, as they were highly unliked and pardoned those who were convicted of the law.As you see, Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with congress was efficient and quite productive.
Jefferson and his administration did not make a lot of great decisions, but the one that is remembered the most is the Louisiana Purchase. In 1762, France gave Louisiana to Spain, but the secret Treaty ofSan Ildefonso gave Louisiana back to France, who was later led by Napoleon. Napoleon hoped that Louisiana would be a food and trade center to supply their island of Santo Domingo. Toussaint L’ouverture and ex-slaves controlled the island, which forced Napoleon to send an army to seize the power from Toussaint L’ouverture. Thousands of soldiers were lost primarily due to yellow fever from infected mosquitoes. Napoleon had to abandon Santo Domingo, and as a result, had to let go of Louisiana. Facing war with Britain, Napoleon could not keep troops to defend the territory so he decided to sell it. Jefferson pounced on this opportunity. He sent Robert Livingston, along with James Monroe, to France to negotiate terms for Louisiana. Treaties were signed on April 30, 1803, which gave Louisiana and the land to the west to America for $15 million. This doubled the size of the United States, which still has a major impact on our nation today. The worst action Jefferson and his administration made was the Embargo Act. This act stopped the trading between the United States and the rest of the countries by practicing American neutrality from the Napoleonic Wars. This proved to be a bad decision and unpopular among the people because many citizens were losing money and it affected the economy immensely. Still, merchants smuggled goods to other countries. Eventually, this was replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act, which reopened trade with all nations except for Britain and France. Ultimately, the War of 1812 emerged, so it is safe to say that Jefferson’s action of creating the Embargo Act caused the war to erupt.
The Embargo Act proved to influence James Madison’s presidency. Just before Jefferson’s term ended the Non-Intercourse Act replaced the Embargo Act. Afterward, Madison took office. With the Non-Intercourse Act ending, the Macon’s Bill No. 2 was passed. After discussions with Britain and France, Madison was forced to stop American Neutrality and enter the war. All of these acts and bills led to the war, but the act that started everything was the Embargo Act, which was passed during Jefferson’s administration. So Jefferson certainly did impact the future president(s) that were to come.
At the end of Jefferson’s presidency, the country had been better than it had been before his presidency. The Louisiana Purchase impacted the citizens of all the colonies because they had the whole Louisiana area and to the west to settle. The president launched the Lewis and Clark expedition and it resulted in amazing discoveries. These actions definitely override the Embargo Act. Although the Embargo Act had an effect, these other actions had a greater lasting effect. Therefore, Thomas Jefferson earned a B.
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 - July 4, 1826)
Political party of the president:
Democratic-Republican party
Dates of the term or terms of office:
Two terms: 1801-1805, 1805-1809
Vice President by term:
Aaron Burr (1801-1805),
George Clinton (1805-1809)
Taking over as the third president of the United States was Thomas Jefferson, one of the most influential Founding Fathers who encouraged Republicanism. He was weak-voiced and lacked aggressiveness, but nevertheless he was popular among the people. Having made some good and bad decisions, Thomas Jefferson shall be awarded with a B average.
Upon entering the role as the president, Thomas Jefferson wanted to create a democratic, agricultural nation. Agriculture was the favored branch of the economy and so special privileges were given to those of the manufacturing industry. Jefferson believed agricultural societies kept people away from evil cities, and close to God while working out in the sun. He strongly supported agricultural education at schools, preferably universities. Therefore, Jefferson believed that the management of the land was vital for the survival of the young nation. In the end, the goal of creating an agricultural nation failed. Another one of his goals was to pay off the national debt while balancing the budget. Jefferson inherited a debt of $83 million. Surprisingly, the president reduced the debt by more than a third, even after the expenditure of $15 million for the Louisiana Purchase. He successfully achieved his goal, but the debt left was handed over to the fourth president, James Madison. Moreover, the Democrat-Republicans insisted on a weak central regime. They believed that the power should be in the hands of the states, and the government’s power should be limited. The political party as well as President Jefferson feared a dictatorship might rise and so carried out this idea of government.
As for his foreign policy goals, he created a small military force of twenty-five hundred officers. He thought the United States would set an example for the rest of the world and make friends through “peaceful coercion.” Probably most important, Jefferson did not want to be sucked into a war, because the national debt would just increase and it would be that much harder to reduce it. Another goal was to end the naval war between the four Barbary States of North Africa, which was successful in the end. In May 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli declared war on the United States because Tripoli demanded money from America but it was not granted. Jefferson sent out the “mosquito fleet” or “Jeffs”, which were the navy vessels. After four years of fighting, Tripoli and America agreed to peace in 1805. When Jefferson was re-elected in 1805, one of his goals was to explore the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase. He launched the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which took two and a half years. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark brought back scientific observations, maps, knowledge of presence of the Indians, and adventure stories. Jefferson achieved his goal and learned more information out west.
The relationship between the president and congress was very peaceful. In his two terms as president, Jefferson did not veto a single bill. This was probably due to the fact that the majority party of the House of Representatives and the Senate were Democrat-Republicans. The following is a list showing the number of Democrat-Republicans and Federalists that were in the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th congresses, during the time that Jefferson served.
7th Congress- House of Rep: 68 DR-38 F, Senate: 18 DR-13 F
8th Congress- House of Rep: 103 DR-39 F, Senate: 25 DR-9 F
9th Congress- House of Rep: 114 DR-28 F, Senate: 27 DR-7 F
10th Congress- House of Rep: 116 DR-26 F, Senate: 28 DR-6 F
Jefferson’s relationship with Congress was, to some extent, predictable because the Democrat-Republicans would always side with him. For example, Jefferson hated the excise tax, which was a tax charged on goods produced within the country. Jefferson persuaded congress to repel this tax and they had no arguments over this whatsoever. Also, he convinced Congress for an expedition across the Louisiana Purchase, who were led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Plus, Jefferson repealed the Alien and Sedition Acts, as they were highly unliked and pardoned those who were convicted of the law. As you see, Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with congress was efficient and quite productive.
Jefferson and his administration did not make a lot of great decisions, but the one that is remembered the most is the Louisiana Purchase. In 1762, France gave Louisiana to Spain, but the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso gave Louisiana back to France, who was later led by Napoleon. Napoleon hoped that Louisiana would be a food and trade center to supply their island of Santo Domingo. Toussaint L’ouverture and ex-slaves controlled the island, which forced Napoleon to send an army to seize the power from Toussaint L’ouverture. Thousands of soldiers were lost primarily due to yellow fever from infected mosquitoes. Napoleon had to abandon Santo Domingo, and as a result, had to let go of Louisiana. Facing war with Britain, Napoleon could not keep troops to defend the territory so he decided to sell it. Jefferson pounced on this opportunity. He sent Robert Livingston, along with James Monroe, to France to negotiate terms for Louisiana. Treaties were signed on April 30, 1803, which gave Louisiana and the land to the west to America for $15 million. This doubled the size of the United States, which still has a major impact on our nation today.
The worst action Jefferson and his administration made was the Embargo Act. This act stopped the trading between the United States and the rest of the countries by practicing American neutrality from the Napoleonic Wars. This proved to be a bad decision and unpopular among the people because many citizens were losing money and it affected the economy immensely. Still, merchants smuggled goods to other countries. Eventually, this was replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act, which reopened trade with all nations except for Britain and France. Ultimately, the War of 1812 emerged, so it is safe to say that Jefferson’s action of creating the Embargo Act caused the war to erupt.
The Embargo Act proved to influence James Madison’s presidency. Just before Jefferson’s term ended the Non-Intercourse Act replaced the Embargo Act. Afterward, Madison took office. With the Non-Intercourse Act ending, the Macon’s Bill No. 2 was passed. After discussions with Britain and France, Madison was forced to stop American Neutrality and enter the war. All of these acts and bills led to the war, but the act that started everything was the Embargo Act, which was passed during Jefferson’s administration. So Jefferson certainly did impact the future president(s) that were to come.
At the end of Jefferson’s presidency, the country had been better than it had been before his presidency. The Louisiana Purchase impacted the citizens of all the colonies because they had the whole Louisiana area and to the west to settle. The president launched the Lewis and Clark expedition and it resulted in amazing discoveries. These actions definitely override the Embargo Act. Although the Embargo Act had an effect, these other actions had a greater lasting effect. Therefore, Thomas Jefferson earned a B.
Bibliography:
"The American Experience | The Duel | People & Events | Thomas Jefferson." PBS. 12 Sep. 2009 <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/peopleevents/pande07.html>.
"American Experience | The Presidents | Thomas Jefferson | PBS." PBS. 5 Sep. 2009 <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/03_jefferson/>.
"Biography of Thomas Jefferson." Welcome to the White House. 5 Sep. 2009 http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/thomasjefferson/.
"Historical Party Strength in U.S. House of Representatives." U.S. Congress. 12 Sep. 2009 <http://www.congressol.com/party-strength-house.html>.
Kennedy, David, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey. The American Pageant. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin company, 2002.
The Thomas Jefferson Papers - 1743 to 1827 Timeline - (American Memory from the Library of Congress)." American Memory from the Library of Congress - Home Page. 12 Sep. 2009 <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/mtjtime3c.html>.
Trivia on U.S. President Thomas Jefferson Reelection and Second Term | Trivia Library." Trivia on Movies, Music, TV, Sports, Science & More | Trivia-Library.com. 12 Sep. 2009 <http://www.trivia-library.com/b/u-s-president-thomas-jefferson-reelection-and-second-term.htm>.